Regressions: Yisujin
8:14:16 PM Canto: It's Fortunada who is doing the regressions. 8:15:21 PM Ella: Ella looks around for him, checking his office first. 8:16:16 PM Canto: He's in there, hunched over some paperwork. He closes a book as you come in. 8:16:33 PM Canto: Fortunada: Ah, Miss Burke. What can I do for you? 8:18:27 PM Ella: Well, I'd sort of like to start the "past-life regression" thing. I can come back later if you're busy, though. I don't want to be a bother. 8:19:30 PM Canto: Fortunada: Not at all. Just getting caught up on some correspondence. Please have a seat. 8:20:01 PM Ella: Ella finds a comfy chair and gets settled. 8:20:19 PM Canto: Fortunada: Do you know what this entails? 8:20:59 PM Ella: If Josie is correct, it involves re-living your soul-ancestor's life. 8:23:34 PM Canto: Fortunada: Yes. What will happen is that I will hypnotize you, and put you into a trance. While entranced, we will cast your mind back and you will relive your previous incarnation's life. At least part of it. It is not without danger, however. Some people are permanently changed by the experience. Some people are not able to... find themselves again. You will literally believe you are this person. 8:25:14 PM Ella: Hm. That's a bit worrying. Eh, could be worse. 8:26:28 PM Canto: Fortunada: It is rare that this happens, but it is a possibility. 8:27:45 PM Canto: Fortunada: I am just making sure that you are aware of the risks. You already have a subconscious connection to your previous incarnations -- thus the dreams. 8:40:39 PM Ella: I appreciate it. Wouldn't want to go into something like this with no clue what would happen. 8:42:20 PM Canto: He nods. "Any other questions? Comments? Concerns?" 8:44:00 PM Ella: Not really. 8:44:23 PM Ella: Ella grins. "Let's get this craziness started." 8:45:21 PM Canto: He nods, and crosses around his desk, to stand before you. "Look into my eyes, then." 8:45:35 PM Ella: Ella does so. 8:46:42 PM Canto: His eyes seem to turn big and black. "Do not resist the process. Just let yourself go." 8:48:10 PM Ella: Ella is not resistant! Maybe abnormally so. 8:51:19 PM Canto: It's very pleasant! Like floating on a big, fluffy cloud. The office seems to fall away and the only thing in the world that matters is his voice. "Tell me about your dreams, Miss Burke." 8:52:14 PM Ella: Well, apparently I was a shamaness in Asia somewhere. 8:52:54 PM Canto: Fortuanda: Do you remember what her name was, Miss Burke? 8:53:48 PM Ella: Y-something? Yisu...jin? 8:55:17 PM Canto: Fortunada: I'd like you to do something for me, Miss Burke. 8:55:30 PM Ella: What kind of something? 8:57:57 PM Canto: Fortunada: I want you to remember the last dream you had of her, and tell me about it. 9:00:09 PM Ella: Last time... I was off exploring these ruins. I had the feeling I'd been there many times before, but not this particular section. 9:01:24 PM | Edited 9:01:41 PM Ella: At some point I got frightened by a bunch of bats and nearly toppled down into a lower room that most of the floor of my current room had caved into. 9:15:53 PM Canto: Fortunada nods. "Tell me about this woman you once were." 9:21:51 PM Ella: She seems to have had a lot of siblings. Her family didn't seem that affluent, or even well-liked, for that matter. She may have been a disappointment to her parents, being a girl and all. At some point she became a powerful shamaness, but I haven't seen how, exactly, yet. 9:23:08 PM Ella: Also apparently she had a weakness for lemon tarts. 9:25:20 PM | Edited 9:26:04 PM Ella: A bunch of dreams were just her practicing with magic, somewhere cold and spiderwebby. 9:28:36 PM Canto: Fortunada: Where are you, right now, Miss Burke? 9:30:12 PM Ella: Me, or past me? My current self is sitting right here in your office. 9:32:33 PM Canto: Fortunada: Listen to the sound of my voice. Let it carry you deeper and deeper into this state of hypnosis. Let the world around you fade away and enter *her* world. My voice will remain your connection. When I tell you to return, you will return. 9:33:29 PM Ella: 'kay. 9:35:09 PM Canto: Fortunada: Tell me when you are there. 9:37:24 PM Ella: Ella starts drifting... 9:37:53 PM Ella: huh. There I am. I'm so tiny. 9:40:11 PM Canto: How old are you? 9:40:54 PM Ella: Looks like... three. 9:41:30 PM Canto: I want you to follow her. Until she's closer to your age. 9:42:06 PM Ella: 'kay. 9:43:35 PM Canto: You watch the little girl! You watch her life. Kind of in fast forward, but you're completely aware of everything as it happens, like watching a movie you've seen a million times on fast forward to get to a favorite part. 9:45:34 PM Ella: Oop. Looks like I'm there. 9:46:30 PM Canto: Fortunada: Stop. Tell me about her. 9:47:55 PM Ella: Yeesh, she's gotten tall. 9:48:39 PM Ella: She's standing in front of somewhere... special, somehow? Just looks like another house. 9:50:34 PM Ella: Her parents think she's strange, and she's sorta pale. Both result from her spending most of her time in the nearby ruins. 9:52:32 PM Ella: She's wearing the one outfit she owns that doesn't have rips at the knees and elbows. 9:53:34 PM Ella: And she's holding... a rock? 9:55:15 PM Canto: Fortunada: What is her name? 9:55:50 PM Ella: Yisujin. 9:55:57 PM Ella: The ninth. 9:56:31 PM Canto: Fortunada: How old is she? 9:57:17 PM Ella: I remember ninteen summers... 10:00:15 PM Canto: Fortunada: As you listen to my voice, you are realizing something; you are not Ella Burke. you are Yisujin. Aren't you? 10:01:44 PM Ella: I... yes. Long dreams are common for me, recently. 10:02:10 PM Canto: Fortunada: Why is that, do you think, Yisujin? 10:04:10 PM | Edited 10:04:37 PM Yisujin: Perhaps there is more to my parents' warnings of the whispers deep in the ruins than I thought. 10:06:17 PM Yisujin: Of course, as long as the dreams end eventually, it is of no concern. 10:09:14 PM Canto: Fortunada: Tell me about these ruins. 10:12:23 PM | Edited 10:12:26 PM Yisujin: They are old. Older than the village. Older than the tree near the shaman's house. Older than Gera, as hard as that is to believe. 10:13:38 PM Yisujin: Few people venture inside, as it is cold and dark, and there are bugs and bats and lizards about. 10:14:34 PM Yisujin: There are rumors of a great slab bearing an unfamiliar symbol. Some think it is a door. 10:16:55 PM Canto: Fortunada: What are you doing right now? 10:17:22 PM Yisujin: Throwing a rock at the shaman's roof. 10:18:14 PM Canto: Fortunada: Are you alarmed by my voice in your mind? 10:18:47 PM Yisujin: I should probably be, but no. 10:19:07 PM Yisujin: Something may be wrong with me, in that regard. 10:20:17 PM Yisujin: As long as you don't throw off my aim, you can talk as much as you like. 10:21:42 PM Canto: Fortunada: Proceed, then. 10:22:03 PM Canto: You're there! In the moment, as Yisujin is about to chuck a rock. 10:23:04 PM Yisujin: Yisujin aims for the one spot that leaks. The old fart is too lazy to fix anything around his house. 10:24:11 PM Canto: Her aim is true! 10:26:01 PM Yisujin: ((if the roof is as weak as she thinks it is, the rock will likely go right through. If she is AMAZINGLY LUCKY, the old coot will be sitting right beneath it, and get a good bonk on the head.)) 10:26:44 PM Canto: You hear a satisfying yelp of pain from the shaman as he throws his front door open. 10:26:57 PM Yisujin: Hello, Gera. 10:27:29 PM Yisujin: Yisujin grins wickedly. 10:27:59 PM Canto: Shaman: What do you want, girl? Will you not be happy until I put a spell on you? 10:28:33 PM Yisujin: Oho, I'd like to see you try, Lardlord. 10:29:26 PM Canto: Shaman: Perhaps I'll render you will-less and have you patch the hole in my roof! 10:29:34 PM Canto: He waves his old gnarled staff threateningly. 10:30:20 PM Yisujin: Yisujin moves her hand slightly. The rock returns! It seems to really like his head. *bonk* 10:31:40 PM Yisujin: Yisujin 's grin widens. 10:32:26 PM Yisujin: With what? That moldy whey you call a potion? 10:32:44 PM Yisujin: You'd have to catch me first, for that. 10:33:45 PM Yisujin: And we all know how you're such an amazing runner. 10:34:11 PM Yisujin: Yisujin makes sure nobody is trying to sneak up on her. 10:36:11 PM Canto: Someone is! It's Erk, his lacky. six feet high and three feet wide. 10:36:22 PM Yisujin: Ha. 10:38:06 PM Yisujin: Yisujin darts to the tree, attempting to use her monkeylike climbing skills to dash up into the branches, grabbing her walking-stick on the way there. 10:40:06 PM Canto: He tries to grab you! 10:42:07 PM Yisujin: Yisujin goes into a forward roll, attempting to duck under Erk's grasp and get the rest of the way to the tree. 10:43:43 PM Canto: You manage to scurry up the tree away from him! 10:43:56 PM Canto: Gera: Damnit, girl. Why do you do these things? 10:45:03 PM Yisujin: Because it suits me. Besides, you'd die in your sleep if someone didn't rouse you every once-in-awhile. 10:46:02 PM Yisujin: And dear Void, Erk. You've certainly been eating well. 10:46:32 PM Canto: Gera: You shouldn't mock me, girl. 10:47:00 PM Yisujin: Yeh, Yeh. 10:47:10 PM Yisujin: Yisujin waves her hand dismissively. 10:48:28 PM Yisujin: Anyway, I came here for more than just to see if you were still alive, oh Ancient One. 10:50:05 PM Canto: Gera: What do you want? 10:53:01 PM Yisujin: Yisujin yells loudly, and positions herself so that her voice will likely get the attention of some of the other villagers. "I WANT YOU TO PROVE HOW GREEEEEAT OF A SHAMAN YOU ARE, LARDLORD!" 10:53:33 PM Yisujin: SHOW ME YOUR POWER, MAKE ME TREMBLE WITH FEAR! 10:53:44 PM Yisujin: Yisujin laughs madly. 10:54:27 PM Canto: Gera: I needn't prove anything to you, girl. Let an old man sleep. 10:54:34 PM Canto: He goes back into his hut. 10:54:45 PM Yisujin: Drat. 10:54:59 PM Yisujin: I was sort of hoping you'd see this. 10:55:51 PM Yisujin: Well, hoping you'd see it from outside your house, at least. 10:56:36 PM Yisujin: Yisujin puts her hand on the tree's largest branch. It seems to sort of... sink into the bark a bit. 10:57:28 PM Yisujin: Well, let's get you to a better spot. 10:58:50 PM Yisujin: Yisujin holds her hand there until strange patterns appear in the bark. She takes it away when they start glowing. 10:59:31 PM Yisujin: This worked with vines. A tree shouldn't be THAT much harder. 11:00:26 PM The Tree: The Tree shudders. 11:00:57 PM The Tree: The Tree creaks. 11:01:03 PM The Tree: The Tree groans. 11:01:06 PM Canto: Erk is watching. 11:01:31 PM The Tree: The Tree lifts up a lil' bit, balancing on its roots. 11:01:40 PM The Tree: The Tree falls back down. 11:01:55 PM Yisujin: Aw, c'mon. 11:02:27 PM Yisujin: Maybe... 11:03:07 PM Yisujin: Yisujin puts both her hands on the tree this time, and more marks appear, the new marks glow, also. 11:03:56 PM The Tree: The Tree lifts up again, apparently stronger than it was before. 11:04:11 PM Canto: Erk has his mouth open! 11:04:20 PM Yisujin: HAHA, YES! 11:04:26 PM Yisujin: TO THE RIVER! 11:05:07 PM The Tree: The Tree shudders and groans, freeing itself from the earth. 11:06:15 PM | Edited 11:06:29 PM The Tree: The Tree stands upon its roots, which seem to also have glowing marks upon them, and starts trudging off to the river. 11:08:09 PM | Edited 11:09:15 PM Yisujin: Yisujin momentarily takes a hand off the tree and bangs on the Shaman's roof with her walking-stick as she passes by. 11:11:09 PM Canto: He peeks his head out. "Where did you come by this power?" 11:12:22 PM Yisujin: Yisujin shrugs and continues laughing. 11:13:34 PM The Tree: The Tree continues its river-ward journey! 11:13:59 PM Canto: It is unimpeded because it's a damn tree. 11:16:00 PM Yisujin: Ooh, we're almost there! Here is probably good. 11:16:33 PM Yisujin: Yisujin takes her hands off the tree. 11:17:28 PM The Tree: The Tree shudders, creaks, and groans as it digs itself back into the ground. 11:19:52 PM The Tree: The Tree is still again. The glowing marks fade quickly, the marks in the tree itself smooth out, and the hand-shaped depressions fill in. 11:21:25 PM Yisujin: Yisujin looks around to see if anyone decided to follow the tree's path of mild chaos. 11:22:37 PM Canto: A few folks. Most of the village is asleep. 11:34:58 PM Yisujin: Yisujin sits on one of the lower branches, grinning widely, watching the small group. 11:36:41 PM Yisujin: Maybe I should've done this when more people were awake. 11:37:04 PM Yisujin: Eh. Too late for that. 6:56:18 PM Canto: So, Yisujin was making a scene. 6:56:26 PM | Edited 6:57:50 PM Yisujin: (Indeed she was.) 6:56:55 PM Canto: Demonstrating her real power to the fraud of a shaman that cowed the village. 6:57:28 PM | Edited 6:57:58 PM Yisujin: (Probably should've tried gathering the crowd FIRST, but oh, well.) 6:59:23 PM Yisujin: (And I didn't even get a proper crowd going. Just a few insomniacs, I think.) 7:01:00 PM Canto: Pretty much! Also they're mostly drunk off fermented tree sap. 7:02:03 PM Yisujin: (Oh, lovely. Yisujin likely doesn't care, she's a bit loopy from expending so much energy at once.) 7:03:13 PM Canto: At least you get drunkenly propositioned at least twice. 7:04:25 PM Yisujin: Yisujin waits for people to get reasonably close, then stands up on her branch and points at the tree. THIS. *points at herself* I DID THIS. 7:04:42 PM Yisujin: Heeheehee! 7:05:23 PM Yisujin: Yisujin almost loses her balance, but saves herself by hugging the tree's central branch. 7:05:28 PM Yisujin: Whoa. 7:07:23 PM Canto: Your admirers kinda drift off. 7:08:55 PM Yisujin: Aww. 7:09:41 PM Yisujin: Oh, well. There'll be no disputing what happened when people wake up to the GIANT HOLE WHERE THE TREE USED TO BE. 7:11:04 PM Yisujin: Yisujin would go after them, but she's dizzy and the prospect of jumping down from this tree is kinda scary at the moment. 7:12:39 PM Canto: The tree beneath you starts to creak ominously. 7:12:54 PM Yisujin: Shut up, you. 7:13:22 PM Yisujin: I'm leaving, already. 7:13:53 PM Yisujin: Yisujin attempts to slide down the tree. 7:14:17 PM Canto: You get down. 7:14:55 PM Yisujin: Aaah, now my head hurts. 7:15:34 PM Yisujin: I need to practice more. What if I have to do this again? 7:16:49 PM Canto: The tree shudders. And starts to fall apart behind you. 7:17:07 PM Yisujin: Yisujin whirls around. 7:17:12 PM Yisujin: Oh, noo! 7:17:15 PM Yisujin: Ow. 7:17:20 PM Yisujin: I'm sorry! 7:17:23 PM Yisujin: Ow. 7:18:07 PM Yisujin: You were my favorite tree in the whole village! 7:19:14 PM Yisujin: Well, except for the lemon tree. 7:19:55 PM Canto: It's like the tree ages and dies very quickly, collapsing into half-rotted firewood. 7:20:09 PM Yisujin: What kinda tree were you, anyway? 7:20:43 PM Yisujin: Welp. I guess I should never try that on anything alive. 7:22:38 PM Yisujin: Back home, then, I guess. The long way. 7:23:06 PM Yisujin: Yisujin takes the path around the bog home. 7:23:39 PM Canto: She heads back home! the bog seems a bit angry at her tonight. 7:24:32 PM Yisujin: Yisujin whispers "Sorry... I thought it'd be happier where it could get more water..." 7:25:11 PM Yisujin: Yisujin continues home. 7:25:33 PM Canto: You're home! Everyone is asleep. 7:26:15 PM Yisujin: Yisujin acts like she just went to get some water or something. 7:29:08 PM Canto: There's a ghost waiting in your room. 7:29:29 PM Yisujin: Oh. 7:29:35 PM Yisujin: Hi. 7:29:47 PM Yisujin: Shimmery person. 7:29:54 PM Yisujin: Hi. 7:30:00 PM Canto: Ghost: so what did that accomplish? 7:30:22 PM Yisujin: Nothing useful. 7:30:33 PM Yisujin: Yisujin is quite sullen. 7:31:03 PM Canto: Ghost: Why did you do it, then? 7:35:36 PM Yisujin: I was trying to show that I could *do* things, I guess. The ninth child of an insignificant family in a tiny village doesn't really get many opportunities to do anything noteworthy. 7:35:51 PM Yisujin: And I wanted to see that old tree bloom. 7:37:01 PM Yisujin: If it *could* bloom at all, that is. 7:37:30 PM Canto: Ghost: No. You wanted to embarrass that fat old 'shaman'. 7:37:41 PM Yisujin: That, too. 7:39:24 PM Canto: Ghost: Magic is at much about intent as it is about results. 7:39:32 PM Canto: Ghost: you tainted your magic. 7:40:44 PM Yisujin: Yisujin just sits there, listening and looking a bit sad. 7:41:06 PM Canto: Ghost: Why do you harry Gera? 7:44:44 PM Yisujin: He's an easy target. And it sort of irks me that he'd lay claim to such a position, without possessing a good chunk of the qualifications. Also maybe I'm a bit bitter about that time he passed off sour milk as a healing tonic. Bleh. I'm glad I didn't look sick, then. 7:45:58 PM Canto: Ghost: What kind of person are you? Someone who bullies the easy targets? Or someone who dislikes liars and charlatans? 7:46:48 PM Yisujin: I hope I'm the second, but I admit that I sometimes act like the first. 7:51:20 PM Canto: Ghost: Perhaps you'll do. 7:52:02 PM Yisujin: Do for what? 7:52:45 PM Yisujin: Yisujin rouses from her gloom into a state of extreme suspicion and curiosity. 7:53:03 PM Canto: Ghost: The village needs a Shaman. 7:53:30 PM Yisujin: Yisujin settles down a bit. 7:53:52 PM Canto: Ghost: Long ago, before this was a village of your people, it was me. 7:55:21 PM | Removed 7:59:47 PM Yisujin: This message has been removed. 7:59:48 PM Yisujin: What happened to you guys? 8:02:05 PM Canto: Ghost: We left. Well, they left. I stayed until I died. 8:02:53 PM Yisujin: And after you died, it seems. 8:03:17 PM Canto: Ghost: Your power in this place woke me up. 8:04:27 PM Canto: Ghost: Gera does have power. Not much, but he does. This place needs a shaman. He has fulfilled that role. 8:04:43 PM Canto: Ghost: But he is lazy. And selfish. 8:04:51 PM Canto: Ghost: Do not underestimate him. 8:05:05 PM Yisujin: Thanks for the tip. 8:05:15 PM Yisujin: I would've never guessed. 8:05:48 PM Canto: Ghost: He fears you as a threat and I worry what he will do with that fear now. 8:06:17 PM Yisujin: Well, looks like I did a great deal of stupid things today. 8:09:41 PM Yisujin: Maybe I should start sleeping in hard-to-reach places. 8:11:35 PM Canto: Ghost: You will become Shamaness. But such a position is never won without hardship. 8:13:01 PM Yisujin: Okay, then. 8:15:09 PM Yisujin: May as well get started. What's first? Spend a night in the bog? Go on a quest up some mountain somewhere? Find out what's riling up the bats? 8:15:33 PM Canto: Ghost: Such hardships will find you. 8:15:39 PM Yisujin: Ah. 8:15:43 PM Yisujin: Waiting. 8:16:51 PM Yisujin: Well, I guess I'll have to learn patience at some point. 8:18:03 PM Canto: The ghost vanishes! 8:19:20 PM Yisujin: Goodbye, ghost. I hope I don't disappoint you and however many other transparent folks are in these ruins. 8:21:50 PM | Edited 8:22:17 PM Yisujin: Yisujin is currently too tired to do anything crazy like find a safe spot in the ruins, and simply flops on her bed (or other comparable furnishing) and passes out. 8:26:20 PM Canto: You sleep! The sleep of the tired and slightly chastised. 8:27:49 PM Yisujin: Yisujin may or may not be drooling a lil' bit. 8:29:29 PM Canto: the next few days go by as they normally do. Maybe the ghost was a dream. 8:31:30 PM Yisujin: Yisujin sneaks away to see what the tree scraps look like. 8:32:44 PM Canto: Like a tree that got struck by lightning, basically. 8:33:43 PM Yisujin: Eesh. 8:34:15 PM Yisujin: Yisujin goes back to the village to see if anything is going on. 8:35:07 PM Canto: Gera hasn't been seen since the other night. 8:35:53 PM Yisujin: Huh. Maybe the bats got 'im. (Oh drat.) 8:36:47 PM Yisujin: Yisujin pokes around his house a bit. Mostly just checking to see if he patched the hole in his roof. 8:37:52 PM Canto: You go into his hut? 8:38:16 PM Yisujin: (No. What sort of fool do you think I am? :P ) 8:39:07 PM Canto: The hole in is roof is still there. And there is smoke coming out of it, so there's a fire in there, so someone must be in there. 8:39:52 PM Yisujin: (oddly colored smoke? Also does he have any windows?) 8:40:46 PM Canto: His windows are usually covered. 8:42:43 PM Yisujin: Yisujin looks at the hole in the ground. "Huh. Could probably plant a nice little garden here." 8:43:31 PM | Edited 8:43:41 PM Yisujin: Might need to bring some more dirt over, though. 8:44:09 PM Canto: And the smoke is just normal smoke, like from a cooking fire. 8:49:47 PM Yisujin: Yisujin shrugs and goes about her business. Gera's hut smells of sour milk and feet. She's not going in there. Not even for lemon tarts. 8:55:22 PM Canto: He's gone for a couple more days. The smoke goes from grey to reddish brown. The townsfolk begin to whisper and rumor about what this could mean. 8:55:42 PM Yisujin: (Ohhhhhh drat.) 8:56:53 PM Yisujin: Yisujin has mostly spent her time practicing in the ruins. (and doing chores because her mom is a scary woman when chores are undone.) 8:57:42 PM Canto: The ghost doesn't show up again. 9:01:52 PM | Edited 9:02:05 PM Yisujin: Yisujin is a bit disappointed. She was sorta looking forward to storytime with ghosty guy. She'd be more disappointed, but ahaha, sleep. 9:02:29 PM Canto: You're woken up by one of your many siblings! 9:03:26 PM Yisujin: Tumaaaaaay... I'm not done with that dream, yet. 9:05:03 PM Yisujin: (One of the triplets. Tumay, Temay, and Tamay. I saw all three on the Random Name Generator at once, so why not?) 9:05:39 PM Yisujin: Yisujin squirms about in her blankets unhappily. 9:08:09 PM Yisujin: Yisujin gets into a sitting position and starts rubbing her eyes sleepily. 9:13:17 PM Canto: Tumay: You know that tree that got hit by lightning and exploded? 9:13:25 PM Yisujin: Yeh. 9:14:23 PM Canto: Tumay: Gera put it back together! With magic. 9:15:00 PM Yisujin: Really? 9:15:13 PM Canto: Tumay: He did! he also looks different. 9:16:04 PM Yisujin: I'm gonna go see. 9:16:37 PM Yisujin: Yisujin grabs her walking-stick and sets off! 9:17:39 PM Canto: The tree that you magicked is back where it belongs, and is back together and flowering. Gera sits beneath it and he does look different. He's no longer as fat. You'd swear he was a little younger looking, too. 9:18:42 PM Yisujin: Yisujin is grinning goofily. 9:19:49 PM Canto: There's a small crowd around him, too, villagers coming to him with requests for blessings and cures. 9:23:34 PM | Edited 9:25:05 PM Yisujin: Yisujin gets a bit closer to the crowd, trying to see if she can find out what happened. 9:27:29 PM Canto: Apparently Gera fixed it with his magic. In full view of many villagers who weren't even drunk. 9:28:52 PM Yisujin: He always seemed to be better with people, anyway. 9:34:50 PM Canto: The smoke from his hut is still red! 9:35:25 PM Yisujin: (does the surrounding area smell weird?) 9:35:36 PM Canto: Not really. 9:36:13 PM Yisujin: Yisujin finds a comfy spot to wait until the crowd mostly dissipates. 9:36:59 PM Canto: It takes awhile. 9:40:13 PM Yisujin: Yisujin attempts to get Gera's attention, once there are only a few people with (as far as she can tell) minor problems left. She's still grinning goofily. "Hey, Gera!" 9:41:39 PM Canto: He looks over at you. "Yes, girl?" 9:42:06 PM Yisujin: Congratulations! 9:42:50 PM Canto: Gera raises an eyebrow. 9:44:33 PM Yisujin: You implied you wanted power, and it looks like you've got it! 9:45:30 PM Canto: Gera: Mmm. You never showed me any respect before. 9:46:04 PM Yisujin: Because you were a lazy old coot with a fancy hat, before. 9:46:26 PM Yisujin: And sour milk. Bleh. 9:52:04 PM Canto: Gera: I see. 9:52:26 PM Canto: Gera: Well, if you'll excuse me. I have tasks. 9:53:48 PM Yisujin: Okay then. See you around! 9:56:03 PM Canto: He goes back to seeing to the villagers! 9:57:37 PM Yisujin: (is Erk around?) 9:57:51 PM Canto: Not at the moment. 9:58:28 PM Yisujin: (Have I seen him around the village recently?) 9:58:48 PM Canto: In passing, you saw him a couple days ago. 10:00:28 PM Yisujin: Hmm... 10:00:53 PM Yisujin: Yisujin goes off by the bog, and looks for a bird. 10:03:45 PM Yisujin: (preferably something small, but anything not ostrich/heron/albatross-sized will do. {If there's a Roc in the bog, she might faint.}) 10:05:03 PM Canto: You find a small bird. 10:05:48 PM Yisujin: Yisujin stands far enough away that she won't scare the poor thing off, and starts mumbling to herself. 10:05:55 PM Yisujin: Okay, intentions. 10:06:11 PM | Edited 10:07:25 PM Yisujin: Curiosity. 10:06:19 PM Yisujin: Suspicion. 10:07:03 PM Yisujin: Worry for some guy who tried to grab me by the ankles a week or so ago. 10:07:54 PM Yisujin: Maybe I should dial back the suspicion a bit. 10:08:27 PM Yisujin: Especially since the target for this one is mostly myself. 10:10:11 PM Yisujin: Yisujin focuses her magic around her throat/mouth region, and thinks... birdy thoughts. In a bit, she opens her mouth and speaks. "Hey, bird!" 10:10:48 PM Yisujin: Would you mind checking something out for me? 10:11:18 PM Yisujin: I can get you a fat bug from the ruins. 10:11:33 PM Canto: The bird acquiesces. 10:13:05 PM Yisujin: You know the human construction, in the gathering of human constructions nearby, with the tree that moved to the river and came back? 10:13:19 PM Canto: Bird: Chirp. 10:13:41 PM Yisujin: Oh, drat, I hadn't thought of that. 10:14:06 PM Yisujin: Would you please chirp twice for yes, and once for no? 10:17:20 PM Yisujin: Anyway, do you know of that structure, the one that recently began belching red smoke? 10:20:39 PM Canto: Bird: Chirp chirp. 10:22:07 PM Yisujin: Yisujin grins goofily. "Oh, good!" 10:24:38 PM Yisujin: Would you please find out why the structure is belching red smoke? And also... if there are any... *frowns* dead human bodies inside? If you are hesitant, I may be able to do something to aid you a bit. 10:32:15 PM Canto: Bird: Chirp chirp. 10:32:53 PM Yisujin: Do you want me to do the thing before you go? 10:33:00 PM Canto: Bird: Chirp. 10:33:03 PM Canto: The bird flies off. 10:33:44 PM Yisujin: Good luck, you feathery critter! 10:34:42 PM Yisujin: Yisujin goes off to fetch a worm or a spider or a lizard or something. 10:34:51 PM Canto: you can find a worm easily enough. 10:36:51 PM Yisujin: Yisujin tries to get it out of the decomposing vegetation that coats most of the ruins' floors, in the surface levels. "How long IS this thing?" 10:40:42 PM Yisujin: Yisujin grabs the squirmy critter and goes back to the spot she found the bird. 10:44:39 PM Canto: It comes back. 10:45:18 PM Yisujin: Hi! 10:45:39 PM Yisujin: Okay, this might get weird. 10:46:34 PM Yisujin: Yisujin attempts to extend the magical effect up to her ears, and into whatever part of her silly head interprets language. 10:47:35 PM Yisujin: Okay, did you learn anything interesting? 10:52:09 PM Canto: The bird reports that there was nothing out of the ordinary. 10:52:39 PM Yisujin: Okay. 10:52:45 PM Canto: No dead bodies. 10:53:00 PM Yisujin: Here you go. Thanks for the info. 10:53:26 PM Yisujin: Yisujin gives the feathery chap the promised squirmy thing. 10:53:54 PM Canto: He takes it happily! 10:56:07 PM Yisujin: Fly high, friend. Or acquaintance, actually. 10:56:47 PM Canto: He flies away with his fairly acquired worm. 10:56:54 PM Yisujin: Yisujin ends the effect before something gets weird. 10:58:16 PM Yisujin: Well, at least Erk's probably ok. 10:58:58 PM Yisujin: I have no idea where to go from here, though. 10:59:33 PM Yisujin: And I've acquired the disturbing habit of talking to myself! 11:00:01 PM Yisujin: In the woods! 11:00:19 PM Yisujin: Like some sort of madgirl! 11:01:07 PM Yisujin: At least I don't have chores today. 11:02:34 PM Canto: More time passes. Gera seems to get younger by the day. He's even becoming handsome. 11:02:47 PM Canto: ((Unless there was something else she wanted to do.)) 11:03:04 PM Yisujin: ((not really, no.)) 11:03:53 PM | Edited 11:04:04 PM Yisujin: Yisujin warns him about going too far and getting stuck as a child, at some point. 11:06:19 PM Yisujin: Because that would be pretty awkward for everyone involved. Especially if you got stuck as a toddler or something. 11:06:37 PM Canto: Gera chuckles. "Thank you for your concern, girl, but I know what I'm doing." 11:07:02 PM Yisujin: Okay then. 11:07:37 PM Canto: Gera: Perhaps when I'm young enough I'll ask your parents for you to marry me, eh? Hah. 11:11:09 PM Yisujin: Yisujin giggles a bit. "Maybe if I can get the image of your wrinkly shirtless self out of my head. I know it was summer, but that's still no excuse to scar a kid for life." 11:11:46 PM Canto: Gera: Hrmph. 11:12:07 PM Yisujin: Heehee. 11:12:25 PM Yisujin: Yisujin smiles good-naturedly. 11:17:06 PM Yisujin: (have I seen Erk recently?) 11:17:48 PM Canto: Not for a few days. 11:18:05 PM Yisujin: (worrying.) 4:27:25 PM Rycroft: So! What's Yisujin gonna do? 4:27:48 PM Rycroft: In the face of the ever younger and more powerful Gera? 4:32:16 PM Yisujin: Well, one question first... Does the tree look different? Specifically, smaller? 4:32:57 PM Rycroft: It does *feel* different. But it doesn't really look any different. The bark is a big darker, maybe. 4:34:20 PM Yisujin: Hmm. 4:35:00 PM Yisujin: Yisujin goes down to the river at some point, to check if the tree fragments are still there. 4:38:29 PM Rycroft: Nope! 4:38:49 PM Yisujin: Are they hidden nearby? 4:39:14 PM Rycroft: There are a couple of chunks, shards of dead tree, but most of them can't be found. 4:41:12 PM Yisujin: (Oh dear void, if Gera did what I think he did. :P) 4:43:28 PM Yisujin: (Does Gera ever actually leave the village, or is he still mostly chairbound?) 4:45:12 PM Rycroft: (He leaves the village and goes out into the surrounding wilderness fairly regularly.) 4:46:38 PM Yisujin: Yisujin examines the tree in greater detail during one of his outings. 4:47:10 PM Rycroft: It still feels pretty wrong. Though you can't put your finger on how. 4:48:45 PM Yisujin: (How much time do I probably have?) 4:49:35 PM Rycroft: No telling, really. It's starting to get dark. 4:51:51 PM Yisujin: Yisujin heads off, just in case he gets back early. (Unless his hut has any windows she can peek in, momentarily.) 4:52:30 PM Rycroft: No windows, no, just the hole in his roof. 4:53:07 PM Yisujin: (Bleh.) 4:55:32 PM Rycroft: Though there is still reddish smoke coming out of the hut. 4:57:12 PM Yisujin: Yisujin will check it out next time he's out. In the meantime, she'll do what she usually does when things get weird, and go explore the ruins for a bit. 4:57:42 PM Yisujin: (She likely won't find anything. :P ) 4:57:55 PM Rycroft: She doesn't find anything new, this is true. 5:02:22 PM Yisujin: (Welp, time passes, I guess. Chores are done, magic is practiced, defensive stuff trees are scrutinized. a distance) 5:04:27 PM Rycroft: Okay! Erk continues to be missing. Gera seems to stop de-aging at a vital late-thirties age. 5:07:39 PM Yisujin: (any changes in the tree, or the smoke?) 5:11:39 PM Rycroft: The red smoke is near constant, and starts to form a bit of a miasma around about his hut. The hut is on the furthest edge of the village, so no one seems terribly concerned. The tree remains unchanged. 5:13:42 PM Yisujin: (Maybe not the next time he goes out, but pretty soon, Yisujin will investigate the smoke. :P) 5:15:12 PM Yisujin: Yisujin attempts to make herself transparent beforehand. 5:16:36 PM Rycroft: You try! On the first try, you manage to make your skin transparent. Just your skin. -_- 5:17:04 PM Yisujin: Yisujin is initially quite weirded out. 5:18:34 PM Yisujin: AAAAA! WHAT IN THE STARRY VOID DID I JUST DO? 5:19:12 PM Rycroft: Luckily, the effect blinks out after you lose concentration. 5:19:56 PM Yisujin: Hokay. That was certainly weird. 5:20:44 PM Rycroft: Gonna give it another shot? 5:20:57 PM Yisujin: (Yep.) 5:21:16 PM Rycroft: Second try! You make your clothes transparent. Just your clothes. 5:22:27 PM Yisujin: Yisujin is quite glad she chose a secluded room in the ruins as a practice-room. 5:23:50 PM Yisujin: ...not quite. 5:23:57 PM Yisujin: Yisujin tries again! 5:24:33 PM Rycroft: Third try is the charm, it seems. It takes a bit of concentration to maintain, but you are invisible, clothes and all. 5:24:56 PM Yisujin: Heeheehee... 5:26:13 PM Yisujin: Yisujin practices with it while waiting for Gera to leave the village again. 5:27:43 PM Rycroft: Eventually he does, heading out into the woods to do Shamany things. 5:31:57 PM Yisujin: Yisujin waits for a bit to make sure he's not going to return prematurely, then investigates invisibly. 5:33:34 PM Rycroft: You go into his hut! It's pretty messy, really, with pots and pans scattered around. The source of the smoke is a cauldron set over the cooking fire, and his shelves are fairly covered with potions. 5:34:34 PM Yisujin: Yisujin looks to see if any of them are labeled. 5:35:06 PM Rycroft: They are, each marked with strange symbols you can't read. 5:39:43 PM Yisujin: Yisujin looks around for anything incriminating or otherwise interesting, taking care to not actually remove any piece of debris from its spot, unless necessary. 5:43:03 PM Rycroft: The potions are really the only things it seems like he cares about in the hut. Though weirdly, you don't see *how* he makes potions. 5:44:18 PM Rycroft: There's none of that normal equipment you expect to see besides the empty vials. Can she read? 5:45:38 PM | Edited 5:45:50 PM Yisujin: (Is it likely? If not, no.) 5:45:54 PM Rycroft: (Probably not, honestly, given her upbringing.) 5:46:04 PM Yisujin: (Hokay then.) 5:46:14 PM Yisujin: Yisujin curses her illiteracy. 5:46:25 PM Rycroft: Does she check out the cauldron? 5:46:48 PM Yisujin: (Might as well.) 5:47:55 PM Rycroft: There's a wooden spoon in there. As she grabs it to kinda stir the reddish sludge in the cauldron -- it doesn't smell anywhere near as foul as it should, it's fairly sweetsmelling and pleasant. 5:49:16 PM Yisujin: Hm. 5:49:31 PM Rycroft: Also, she finds an eyeball. 5:51:29 PM Yisujin: Yisujin thinks: "What're you lookin' at?" She then mentally giggles a bit, attempting to keep herself invisible. 5:53:20 PM Yisujin: Yisujin gingerly grasps the spoon, pulling some of the glop out and putting it in one of the pans. She then stirs it with the spoon, trying to see if the spoon will produce the same potioncrafty effect in a different vessel. 5:55:54 PM Rycroft: It is, by the way, a human eye. And she can't tell any difference when she puts it into a new vessel. 5:57:50 PM | Edited 5:58:11 PM Yisujin: (Is it the same color as Erk's are? /were?) 5:59:21 PM Rycroft: Yep! 5:59:32 PM Yisujin: (Oh dear.) 8:29:57 PM Yisujin: Yisujin makes a mental note to learn to decipher the strange paper-symbols and looks around for an empty vial or other suitable container. 8:30:27 PM Rycroft: There are plenty of empty vials. 8:31:31 PM Yisujin: ((any loose ingredients about, or does the spoon/cauldron seem to make its own glop?)) 8:32:12 PM Rycroft: The spoon is just a spoon. You don't see any ingredients besides what's in the cauldron. 8:33:11 PM | Edited 8:35:58 PM Yisujin: Yisujin shrugs invisibly, stirs the cauldron for a bit, and bottles some of the glop. 8:33:43 PM Yisujin: (is the smoke a different color?) 8:40:36 PM Rycroft: Nope, still red. 8:43:43 PM Yisujin: (If I hide the vial in my hands, or under my clothes, is it invisible also, or is there a floating bottle in the middle of the room?) 8:47:14 PM Rycroft: There is a floating bottle. 8:47:27 PM Yisujin: (XD) 8:48:32 PM Yisujin: Yisujin attempts to extend the invisibility effect so that it covers the bottle. 8:49:00 PM Rycroft: you make the bottle invisible! But the rest of you becomes visible. 8:50:45 PM Yisujin: Yisujin makes a mental note to get an invisibility satchel or something, then attempts to make herself invisible and leave the bottle visible. 8:55:46 PM Yisujin: Yisujin then attempts to get out of there (once invisible) before Gera finishes shaman-ing around in the forest. 8:58:13 PM Rycroft: There's another vial, sitting there on the shelf, that seems to call out to you. 9:00:53 PM Yisujin: Yisujin snags it almost without thinking, and sneaks out, putting the vials in her socks so they are harder to see while she creeps away. 9:02:58 PM Rycroft: You needn't have worried, as you get back to the ruins without being spotted. 9:06:39 PM | Edited 9:07:01 PM Yisujin: Yisujin goes to one of the more hard-to-reach spots in the ruins and examines her pilfered items. 9:08:15 PM Rycroft: Two vials! is filled with goo and the other with potion. 9:11:20 PM Yisujin: Yisujin eyes the potion suspiciously, trying to determine whether drinking it would be a good idea. 9:11:33 PM Rycroft: You dunno! 9:13:05 PM Yisujin: Yisujin then shrugs and downs it anyway. 9:13:20 PM Rycroft: ((I don't believe you did that.)) 9:13:30 PM | Edited 9:13:36 PM Yisujin: Yisujin is the best at making good decisions. :P 10:47:54 PM Rycroft: So. Yisujin did a thing. 10:49:28 PM Yisujin: Indeed. 10:53:23 PM Rycroft: If only Yisujin could read the strange scrawl on the vial, she would have realized that the vial said 'Love Potion For that Annoying Girl'. It tastes like hot chocolate, a delicious invention that wasn't even inevnted yet. But before long, Yisujin is in full 'swoon' mode over the suddenly, ridiculously desirable Gera. HE IS THE DREAMIEST. YOU WANNA BE HIS LOVE SLAVE. 10:53:42 PM Rycroft: The ruins ghost appears before her, though. And it looks like he's facepalming. 10:53:47 PM Yisujin: (OH DEAR GOD NO. :P) 10:55:53 PM Yisujin: (does it come with decreased motor skills, because this may be the lowest room I've found, and if so, the only way back to the village is a pretty slippery vine.) 10:57:25 PM Yisujin: (It's really far down. Far down enough that it's weirdly warm.) 10:59:54 PM Yisujin: Oh, hi. 11:00:05 PM Rycroft: Right now you're slightly stunned by the depth of your totally true wuv. You're not rushing out to see him just yet. 11:00:13 PM Rycroft: Ghost: ...why did you do that? 11:01:13 PM Yisujin: Yisujin is completely oblivious to the can of worms she has opened. "...Because I am great at making decisions." 11:03:55 PM Rycroft: Ghost: ... you realize what you just did, right? 11:05:46 PM | Edited 11:07:15 PM Yisujin: What? Drank a random thing and suddenly realized how *smoking hot* Gera is, now that he's not all old an' wrinkly? Yep. 11:06:15 PM Yisujin: (Oh dear void, I can't stop giggling.) 11:06:30 PM Rycroft: ((He's no longer old and wrinkly, btw. )) 11:06:56 PM Yisujin: (WARGLEFLARGLE MEATFINGERS.) 11:07:50 PM Yisujin: (I still can't stop giggling. Send help.) 11:08:18 PM Rycroft: Ghost: So you *know* you just swallowed a love potion he designed for you. 11:08:48 PM Yisujin: (How's my capacity for rational thought?) 11:09:39 PM Rycroft: (however you wanna play it. )) 11:10:36 PM Yisujin: (hoo boy.) 11:11:37 PM | Edited 11:11:53 PM Rycroft: ((It's free form! She can be totally twitterpated, or rational enough to know that the ghost is probably right and not care, or be completely rational and still totally affected by the love spell.)) 11:12:45 PM Yisujin: Yisujin sits there for a second. She seems to be quite confuddled. 11:13:23 PM Yisujin: But he's too nice to... Hm... 11:13:58 PM Yisujin: How long do these things usually take to wear off, if they do at all? 11:15:08 PM Rycroft: Ghost: It depends on the victim. With you? Maybe half a day. In here, close to the Well? Perhaps as short as a few hours. 11:22:24 PM Yisujin: Well, that's rather fortuitous. If I want someone as bad as I want Gera at the moment, I want to make them *MINE*. That means slowly engineering their every experience so that everything they like reminds them of me, and therefore, that I remind them of everything they like. I am crazy right now, but I don't want to risk scaring him off. *rants on for a bit about social engineering and lemon tarts and such. In short, she's gone full-on OAG mode.* 11:23:14 PM Yisujin: ...so it will likely wear off during the planning sta-what well? 11:25:18 PM Rycroft: Ghost: It's all coming to a head, so I might as well tell you -- you sleep next to a well of magical power. That's where your power comes from. I was hoping that, in the decades to come, I would have been able to shepherd you a bit, teach you, until you were ready to become shaman. 11:25:56 PM Rycroft: Ghost: ... however, Gera intended to enslave you with a potion of darkest magic, so you must confront him sooner rather than later. 11:30:25 PM | Edited 11:30:32 PM Yisujin: Well, let's get started, I guess. Giving me more things to plan out will give me more time to let this weird, sugary feeling die down. 11:30:47 PM Rycroft: Ghost: first of all, you probably consumed human remains. 11:31:08 PM Rycroft: Ghost: Just so you know. 11:31:14 PM Yisujin: Okay, feeling a bit less sugary and a bit more vomit-y. 11:31:45 PM Yisujin: Keep up the good work. 11:31:46 PM Rycroft: Ghost: Gera most likely bargained with a demon of some kind for power. 11:32:29 PM Rycroft: Ghost: I saw you make yourself invisible earlier. You had a hard time with it, didn't you? 11:33:16 PM Yisujin: A lil' bit. I nearly scared myself silly. 11:33:36 PM Rycroft: Ghost: I told you that a large part of a spell is intent. 11:33:43 PM Rycroft: Ghost: Another part is context. 11:34:01 PM Rycroft: Ghost: A magician can't just change reality at a whim. 11:34:24 PM Rycroft: Ghost: This is why there are spells, and potions, and rituals. 11:35:01 PM Rycroft: Ghost These things are the loom you use to weave magic to do what you wish. 11:35:49 PM Rycroft: Ghost: Without the context, the magic is wild and largely uncontrollable, only marginally bound by the initial intent. 11:36:07 PM Rycroft: Ghost: Thus you make your skin invisible rather than your entire body. 11:37:50 PM Yisujin: So that's what someone looks like without it... Bleugh. 11:38:10 PM Yisujin: Feeling a bit more vomit-y. 11:39:05 PM Rycroft: Ghost: You can throw up if you want. The potion was only the delivery vector for the spell. Vomiting it up won't dispel it. 11:40:17 PM Rycroft: And the Ghost goes on! Teaching you the basics of spellcasting. After a few hours, you start to feel those intense feelings of TRUE LOVE fade away as the spell wears off. 11:41:44 PM Yisujin: Okay, now I no longer feel the importance of whether our children's names ward off evil spirits. Is that a good sign? 11:42:24 PM Rycroft: Ghost: Generally, yes. Now we must prepare you to face Gera now that you can perhaps conceive of doing him harm. 11:43:57 PM Yisujin: How will we go about doing that? 11:45:53 PM Rycroft: Ghost: I will teach you some spells to protect you and strip him of his powers. You will challenge him in front of the village and prove you are the better shaman. 11:47:55 PM | Edited 11:48:26 PM Yisujin: Seems like a sound plan. What time is it? I don't want to repeat the mistake I made the last time I tried to challenge that guy. 11:48:19 PM Rycroft: Ghost: I'm a ghost. I don't know what time it is. 11:48:43 PM Rycroft: Ghost: Besides. You need to challenge him for the right reasons. 11:49:03 PM Yisujin: Eh, worst-case, I can take a nap beforehand. 11:49:33 PM Yisujin: And yeah, I should probably spend some time thinking about my reasons for doing so. 11:50:28 PM Rycroft: Ghost: It can't be because he wronged you. Or annoys you. He has to be because selling his soul for power will taint everything he does as shaman for this village. 11:53:56 PM Rycroft: Ghost: He *will* kill this village. 11:56:23 PM Yisujin: Yisujin thinks for a minute about her mother's tales of demons. Her face switches expressions, going from slightly peeved, to a bit worried, to a face that looks like it belongs in a "NOPE" reaction pic. "Nope. Not happening. Not here. Hopefully nowhere ever." 11:56:57 PM Rycroft: Ghost: Right. So I'm going to teach you what I can and you will go and become shaman. 11:58:11 PM Yisujin: Let's get started, then. Before he lets out Itharil or Shesha or something with needly little teeth. 12:00:31 AM Rycroft: Training montage, with a ghost! He teaches you some basic spells -- a spell of warding to protect, a spell of mending to heal, and a spell of banishment. He maintains that these three spells will allow you to vanquish Gera. 12:01:57 AM Yisujin: Great! Thanks, guy! 12:02:12 AM Yisujin: And thanks for putting up with my antics so far. 12:02:51 AM Rycroft: Ghost: Yes, yes. Just do what you must do. I've used a lot of my time up here, so I'll have to save what I have left. 12:03:13 AM Yisujin: Okay. Bye. 12:03:34 AM Rycroft: he fades away! 12:06:00 AM Yisujin: Welp. Time to go get ready to prevent *who knows* what sort of horribleness. 12:06:29 AM Yisujin: Yisujin climbs the vine and checks the time. 12:07:07 AM Rycroft: It's sundown. 12:08:30 AM Yisujin: Hah. Perfect. 12:09:08 AM Yisujin: Yisujin goes to sleep for the day. Dreaming of things with needly lil' teeth. 7:18:42 PM Yisujin: Yisujin gets up quite a bit earlier than she usually does, and waits around the village center, community firepit, or other congregation area and waits for most of the village to wake up. 7:19:23 PM Canto: They do, eventually, in that time before most of them get to their farming or herding or whatever else they might do. 7:22:31 PM Yisujin: (Is Gera around?) 7:23:02 PM Canto: Not yet, though eventually he comes out of his hut. 7:28:18 PM Yisujin: Yisujin attempts to rile up a crowd before he decides to grump on over. "PEOPLE! I HAVE SOME RATHER GRIM NEWS TO SHARE WITH ALL OF YOU." 7:29:48 PM Yisujin: ONE OF OUR NUMBER HAS BETRAYED US, AND POSSIBLY THE WHOLE WORLD! 7:30:03 PM Canto: People start gathering! 7:33:59 PM Yisujin: Yisujin starts quieting down as she sees more people arrive, eventually only raising her voice for emphasis. "ONE OF US HAS GAINED POWER RECENTLY, and they have gained that power by bargaining with DEMONS!" 7:34:46 PM Yisujin: Will you stand idly by while they bring a demon into this world? 7:35:05 PM Yisujin: While they summon the likes of Shesha the trickster? 7:35:20 PM Yisujin: Or Ithatil the Opressor? 7:36:24 PM Yisujin: Or, horror of horrors, KELSORA, SHE-WHO-DESTROYS-EVEN-IN-DEATH? 7:37:40 PM Yisujin: I will not. 7:38:10 PM Canto: Gera is coming over toward you! 7:38:23 PM Yisujin: Oh, there's the pretender now. 7:39:50 PM Yisujin: Gera, I wish to challenge you for the position of shaman, and for the safety of this village. 7:40:08 PM Yisujin: Your response? 7:43:39 PM Canto: Gera: You don't know what you're talking about, girl. 7:44:16 PM Yisujin: Well, then. Whose eyeball was that in your house? 7:45:33 PM Canto: Gera looks around at the townsfolk, and you can feel his power radiating out, making his words more compelling. "You all know me. I have served you for years, and you all know that this girl has challenged me, day after day, year after year!" 7:46:20 PM Yisujin: This time's different. 7:46:51 PM Yisujin: Yisujin casts banishment at him, attempting to sever/disrupt his demonic connection. 7:51:45 PM Canto: It doesn't seem to work! The power flowing into him is too strong. But he continues speaking, spellbinding the townsfolk. "This *girl* could never handle being your shaman. She would lead the village to *ruin*." 7:56:39 PM Yisujin: Yisujin begins talking, casting her shield over the villagers as she does so. "You do NOT know that. I DO know that your involvement with demons will taint everything you do for this village. I *may* lead this village to ruin. You *WILL*" 8:03:07 PM Canto: You manage to ward them from the spell, and they snap out if it. The warding also seems to 'protect' Gera from the source of his power. 8:10:55 PM Yisujin: Yisujin intensifies the shielding around Gera. 8:12:10 PM Canto: He stops speechifying and starts coughing! 8:18:52 PM Yisujin: Yisujin observes him, still intensifying the shield, but at a much slower rate, and pre-casting healing in case she needs to use it. "Who, exactly, are you borrowing power from, and is there a way to sever their connection to this world?" 8:22:57 PM Canto: He start coughing up some goo! This reddish ectoplasm, right onto the dirt. 8:23:33 PM Yisujin: Yisujin quits precasting healing, and switches to banishment. 8:23:59 PM Canto: As Gera spits the ectoplasm up, he seems to be getting older. 8:27:08 PM Canto: He is not able to speak, obviously. 8:27:49 PM Yisujin: Ok then, take your time. Just let it all out. 8:30:37 PM Canto: The goo he's spiting up starts to take on a humanoid shape as Gera gets older and old. 8:32:20 PM Yisujin: Yisujin watches, and puts up a shield around herself, as well. 8:42:28 PM Yisujin: Yisujin simultaneously brings Gera's shield down and hits the goop with banishment. 8:46:43 PM Canto: The goo-being kinda explodes! All over the townsfolk, which seems to act like a poison! 8:46:57 PM Yisujin: Oh drat. 8:47:16 PM Yisujin: Yisujin casts healing on the splattered chaps. 8:47:38 PM Canto: You heal them! 8:47:50 PM Canto: Gera, unfortunately, is dead. 8:48:32 PM Yisujin: Poor soul. 8:49:33 PM Yisujin: Yisujin addresses the villagers: "Are you people okay?" 8:50:21 PM Canto: They nod! And seem very grateful! 8:51:11 PM Yisujin: Okay then. See you chaps around. 8:51:40 PM | Edited 8:55:33 PM Yisujin: Yisujin goes off to cautiously inspect Gera's house, especially the tree. 8:57:15 PM Canto: The tree starts to rot. And the red smoke finally stops pouring out of his hut. 9:00:49 PM Yisujin: Well, that's that, I guess. 9:03:07 PM | Edited 9:06:17 PM Yisujin: Yisujin spends the rest of the day talking with people, helping out with shaman-y stuff, and generally trying to get a feel for her new responsibilities. She also keeps an eye out for possible demonic activity. 9:06:21 PM Yisujin: Yisujin goes back to her room at the end of the day, if nothing else happens, quite ready to fall asleep. 9:08:57 PM Canto: Over the next few days it becomes understood that you are pretty much Shaman now. Time speeds up and years go by, and you grow into your rule. 9:21:06 PM Yisujin: Yisujin tries to be a wise shaman, helping any who ask it and generally being a good leader for the community. Her mischievous streak never really dies down, though. 9:24:54 PM Canto: Most good shamans are mischievous. 9:32:06 PM Canto: Time goes on. You're in your fifties, still powerful and still a prankster, when you start feeling something in the wind, something bad is coming. 9:33:10 PM Yisujin: My ankles feel all weird. That's usually never a good sign. 9:33:25 PM Yisujin: Unless it's accompanied by a headache... 9:33:35 PM Yisujin: Or was that a backache? 9:33:41 PM Yisujin: Eh. 9:35:16 PM Yisujin: Yisujin goes out into the forest for a bit, to ask the forest critters if they saw/smelled/heard/sensed anything unsettling or similarly noteworthy. 9:35:57 PM Yisujin: Hey, bird! How've you been? 9:38:52 PM Canto: Bird: found a nightcrawler last night. 9:39:47 PM Yisujin: Ooh, you haven't found many of those recently. I think you got all the dumb ones. 9:43:09 PM Yisujin: Any new things in the surrounding area? New plants? New animals? ...New humans? Well, other than Jinua's new kid. Adorable lil' chap. 9:44:48 PM Canto: Bird: men. 9:46:30 PM Yisujin: Really? Worrying. Do they seem friendly? 9:47:00 PM Canto: Bird: Hungry. 9:49:01 PM Yisujin: For food, or for... *allows a small light to dance between her fingers* energy? 9:51:57 PM Canto: Bird: Light. 9:52:10 PM Yisujin: ...Oh, lovely. 9:52:49 PM Yisujin: Can you take me to where they are? 9:53:29 PM Canto: Bird: far away. They'll be at your nest soon enough. 9:54:50 PM Yisujin: How soon? days? Bunchdays? Bunchbunchdays? 9:55:22 PM Yisujin: ...Hours? 9:56:02 PM Canto: Birds: dunno. 9:56:12 PM Yisujin: Eh. 9:56:37 PM Yisujin: Thanks for the info. I got you the usual. 9:56:53 PM | Edited 9:58:18 PM Yisujin: Yisujin tosses the bird a fat, squirmy grub. 9:58:26 PM Canto: The bird accepts it! 9:58:37 PM Yisujin: Fly high, friend. 9:59:05 PM Yisujin: Yisujin goes off to the village, rather hurriedly. 9:59:43 PM Canto: Okay! 10:05:36 PM Yisujin: Yisujin grabs metal pan, and bangs on it with her walking-stick, attempting to get the attention of the villagers, or wake them up. 10:06:06 PM Yisujin: Gaanbatar! Get the kids! 10:06:17 PM Canto: You gather the villagers! 10:09:36 PM Yisujin: It is likely not safe for any of you to remain here. You will have to flee somewhere and hide. I like you chaps, and don't want anything bad to happen to you. I must stay to keep these people busy while you escape. 10:13:56 PM Yisujin: Go whatever direction feels best to you, just not west. 10:14:19 PM Yisujin: Or northwest, southwest, north-northwest... you get the idea, I'm sure. 10:15:11 PM Canto: You're able to evacuate the village. It takes a few days, but by the time the Pale Men show up, you're the only one there to meet them. 10:19:38 PM Yisujin: Yisujin is in full view, in the middle of the village. She faces them leaning heavily upon her trusty walking-stick, hunched over a great deal more than she usually is. 10:19:45 PM Yisujin: Ooh, visitors! 10:19:52 PM Yisujin: Who are you gents? 10:20:36 PM Canto: There are three of them, two men, and one woman. All very, very pale skinned, with golden hair and strange armor and weapons. 10:20:46 PM Canto: You can sense that they're all powerful. 10:21:09 PM Yisujin: Yisujin smiles good-naturedly at them. 10:23:03 PM Canto: Lead Westerner, who speaks in your language, but slowly and deliberately. "We want the Well. We don't care about you." 10:24:20 PM Yisujin: What exactly do you want with it? 10:24:44 PM Canto: Westerner: That is none of your concern. 10:27:37 PM Yisujin: Hold on. 10:28:04 PM Yisujin: My hearing isn't that great. 10:28:51 PM Yisujin: Yisujin brushes her ear and casts a translation spell, in case the others start mumbling something. 10:29:09 PM Yisujin: There we go, that sometimes helps. What? 10:33:36 PM Canto: Westerner: We do not wish to play games. Let us pass or die. Those are your choices. 10:38:45 PM Yisujin: You people don't feel right. I hope you can understand that the well is something I've been safeguarding for decades. Something that I'm not going to let anyone near if their intentions are tainted. If you give a good reason, you may pass. 10:40:24 PM Canto: Westerner: It is ours and we wish to reclaim it. 10:40:34 PM Canto: They start walking toward the ruins. 10:41:39 PM Yisujin: By what authority do you make this claim? 10:46:26 PM Canto: Westerner: Does it matter? Is there any authority we could cite that you would accept? 10:46:40 PM Canto: They continue stalking toward the ruins. 10:47:37 PM Yisujin: Well, anything would be better than "Bluh. This ours. We take. Bluh." 10:48:01 PM Yisujin: Yisujin does a fair approximation of their accent, if they have one. 10:48:26 PM Yisujin: Also, don't step over there, I sorta dug a pit trap. 10:49:32 PM Canto: They walk around any traps you've set. 10:58:51 PM Yisujin: For all I know, you're just a bunch of people who heard about some ancient empire's holdings, and are now just traveling the countryside, taking anything of interest and gaining power for whatever you people are gaining power for. I would rather like to know what that is before I let you souls take what I believe is the source of my power, rendering me unable to help the people who have come to rely upon me. 10:59:59 PM Canto: Westerner: We lurk at the end of everything, forever eating our own past. 11:00:09 PM Canto: They continue walking to the ruins! 11:01:55 PM Yisujin: Well, that *certainly* clears things up. 11:03:45 PM Yisujin: So... this is more of a matter of survival than anything else. 11:06:50 PM Yisujin: A friend told me you were "hungry" for "light". If you need this energy to survive, I won't stand in your way. 11:08:39 PM Yisujin: Yisujin pulls up a truthseeing effect and asks: "Is that your reason?" 11:09:35 PM Canto: They don't answer. They have absolutely no interest in reasoning with you, you you can tell that. 11:13:35 PM Yisujin: Yisujin extends the translation effect to her speech. 11:13:57 PM Yisujin: Answer me or I'll drain the well myself. 11:15:04 PM Canto: They continue to ignore you, and reach the entrance of the ruins. 11:16:53 PM Yisujin: Oh, what in the starry void did I expect, anyway. 11:18:56 PM Yisujin: Yisujin trudges after them, curious about what they're going to do, exactly, and also a bit annoyed at their antics. 11:21:24 PM Canto: They're making their way through the ruins, straight toward the Well itself. 11:57:44 PM Yisujin: ((Because they've been jerks so far, she's not gonna warn them about the melon launchers. Or the water traps. alligators probably climbed out and crawled off to do alligator things Or the bats.)) AM Canto: They're pretty much like terminators, with powerful wards pulled around them as they stalk through the ruins undeterred by anything, until they reach the Well itself. AM Canto: The three of them gather around and join hands around it, and you feel them doing... something to it. You're not sure what it is. AM Yisujin: (does it feel ominous at all?) AM Canto: Yeah, a bit. AM Yisujin: Well, you still don't feel right. You speak in riddles and demands, if at all. AM Yisujin: You know, I tried to tap the Well's energy once before. Wasn't exactly pleasant. AM Yisujin: Then I had the idea to make an item to do it for me. AM Yisujin: It's only able to get a lil' bit at a time, though. AM | Edited 12:45:25 AM Yisujin: Yisujin pulls out a strange dagger and flicks it once at a spiderweb. It emits a tiny little fireball, which burns the web to ash. AM Yisujin: Blood, especially my blood, seems to act as a catalyst, though. I can pull more out if the blade is wet with it. AM Yisujin: I was really hoping it'd never come to this, but meh. AM Canto: They continue to ignore you, engrossed in their ritual. AM Yisujin: Yisujin shrugs a bit, grits her teeth, then stabs herself with the thing! She sits down on the floor. Initially there is no effect, but when she starts to cough up blood, it instead comes out as fire. When the fire appears, an orange line shoots up from the well, turns ninety degrees at a point just below the ceiling, shoots in her direction, and upon reaching a point roughly above her, turns another ninety degrees and shoots down into the pommel stone. When it reaches the stone, the dribble of fire becomes a torrent. AM Yisujin: Yisujin is now involuntarily shooting multicolored fire everywhere. Her hair has caught fire, too. AM Canto: The Pale Men are also burning, though. When the torrent of rainbow puke ends, everyone lies dying next to the well. AM Yisujin: Yisujin coughs once more, letting out a tiny puff of smoke. AM Canto: The chamber is burnt... but you kept them from taking the Well. AM Yisujin: Yisujin is likely too weak to even heal herself, if enough energy even remains in the Well, or in her own energy reserves. AM Canto: No... this is pretty much the end for her. She hears a strange voice in her mind, though. "Miss Burke. Return." AM Yisujin: Oh, great. Now I'm going crazy. Again. You sound familiar, though. AM Canto: Fortuanada: You are Ella Burke. you are in my office. Remember now. AM Yisujin: Wait, wha- AM Yisujin: ...oh, THIS was the dream. AM Yisujin: Not the red-haired person. AM Yisujin: Hold on... AM Yisujin: Yisujin starts drifting... AM Ella: Geeah... It feels so weird to have a knife in your gut, and then suddenly... not. AM Ella: Wait a sec. AM Ella: Ella looks down at her shirt. AM Ella: Nope. not stabbed. AM Canto: Fortunada: Indeed. Just relax and drift. Remember who you are. Where you are. When you are. AM Ella: Ella sits quietly for awhile, just easing back into her current soul iteration. AM Canto: Fortunada: When you are fully you again, tell me. AM Ella: Will do. AM Ella: Ella is remembering something. Her face cycles through a few expressions before settling on a cheshire cat grin. "Ooh, can't believe I forgot that. That was glorious." AM Ella: I think I'm back. Both iterations seemed to have similar personalities, thankfully. Just had to shuffle my memories around. AM Canto: Fortuanada: Very well. AM Canto: Fortunada: You can begin awakening now. AM Ella: Ella gradually eases out of the trance. AM Canto: Fortunada: And there we are. Within days, the vividness of the memories will begin fading. AM Ella: Ok then. AM Ella: Thanks. I'll just migrate to the library so you can get back to... Whatever you were doing before this. AM Canto: Fortunada: It's only been a few hours. AM Ella: Wait, what time was it when we started? AM Canto: Fortunada: The sun had just gone down.